Simulation and experiment of the magnetorheological seat suspension with a seated occupant in both shock and vibration occasions

Abstract

The aim of the present work is to develop an magnetorheological (MR) seat suspension for military vehicles to mitigate dynamic responses of seated occupant in both shock and vibration occasions. The main components of the MR seat suspension are tested and modelled. Subsequently, a mathematical model incorporating the MR seat and a seated occupant is established. The vibration and shock simulations based on the established model are carried out, and the results indicate that the proposed MR seat suspension can significantly alleviate the acceleration responses of the seated occupant under vibration input, and simultaneously possess the ability of reducing the spinal injury risk in the presence of severe impact. The systematic experiments of the MR seat prototype with a 50th percentile male hybrid III dummy are conducted, it is found out that the experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical simulation results, which demonstrates that the developed MR seat suspension is provided with favourable vibration reduction performance and impact resistance.